The Broken One
by Aureiko
Summary: You can only put off the inevitable for so long. Ash found that out the hard way. [One Shot]


**"Prepare for trouble!"**

**"Yes, and make it double!"**

Ash groaned. Did these idiots ever stop chasing him and Pikachu? No matter what region he went to, no matter what companions he traveled with, no matter what Pokémon he had on him, they were always there, always trying to capture Pikachu.

If Ash was honest with himself, he didn't hate Team Rocket, not really. Those three were too incompetent to be evil. They cared for one another and were loyal, and they traveled the world together. In a way, Team Rocket wasn't so different from him; they just made bad decisions.

Why did they insist on chasing him and Pikachu, though? Surely there were better trainers they could steal from. Sometimes, when Ash sat down and thought about everything, he realized that he just didn't get it.

**"To protect the world from devastation!"**

**"To unite all evils within our nation!"**

Pikachu shifted slightly on Ash's shoulders. "Pika-pi."

Ash smiled softly. "Yeah, I know."

Ash could practically hear Pikachu's voice in his head — _Here we go again_. Pikachu wasn't just talking about Team Rocket, Ash knew that much. Pikachu was talking about _everything_, his journey, his dream, his companions — Team Rocket was just one more thing added to the bucket list.

Pikachu may be right about Team Rocket, but he wasn't right about his journey. His journey was special, important, and fun. It was the grand adventure he dreamed about as a child — going on his journey and become the Champion. One of these days, he would be the champion, too. He was sure of it.

**"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"**

**"To extend our reach to the stars above!"**

Pikachu turned around and looked pointedly at Ash. "_No, you don't know, or we wouldn't be here."_

Ash lowered his head. "That's not true…"

Pikachu tilted his head back and made a "Pika-ka-ka" sound, which Ash immediately recognized as a laugh.

**"Jessie!"**

**"James!"**

Pikachu was wrong. His journey was important — it wasn't pointless. Sure, he hadn't won a championship yet, but it wasn't like he was losing on purpose so he could go on another adventure or something… or did he?

**"Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light!"**

**"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"**

**"Meowth, that's right!"**

Ash's female companion shrieked. "Oh no! It's Team Rocket!"

His male companion added, "Not again!"

Ash was getting tired of this. He knew they must be, too: Jessie's hair, which used to be a brilliant red, now had gray streaks in it. James was actually starting to _lose_hair, and Meowth's medallion was rusted in a way that no amount of polishing could fix.

Ash almost felt sorry for them, and for the contraption he knew he'd eventually destroy.

It was useless, but Ash cried out, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt that Ash knew was nowhere near full power. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen it that way, either. The Thunderbolt arced away from Team Rocket and sputtered off uselessly at a tree with a conspicuous looking metal device on the top.

Jessie gave an award-winning smile. "Ha-ha! We knew you'd try to use Thunderbolt, so we installed a lightning rod on that tree! Now Pikachu's ours!"

Ash pulled his hat down to cover his face. He really couldn't resist the urge to laugh. Did they even realize the lightning had burnt and destroyed the tree the lightning rod had been attached on? They put a lightning rod on a _tree_, and they expected that to work?

Sadly, Ash knew they did expect it to work… or maybe they didn't. Maybe they were going through the motions, too.

"Pikachu, use another Thunderbolt!"

Meowth laughed cockily. "Heh, look at da twerp, orderin' his Pikachu ta use Daundabolt! Dat won't work on —"

Lightning flashed and, miraculously, defying all laws of physics, Team Rocket was once again in the air.

**"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"**

"Yay, we beat Team Rocket!" His female companion exclaimed.

His male companion smirked. "That'll show them!"

Ash, as usual, ignored them. He was tired, oh so tired.

**-o-o-o-**

_"Ash, you got to stop this."_

Pikachu and he were at the Pokémon Center, staying in one of the rooms for the night. They had the room all to themselves — they had spare rooms for his companions.

Ash raised his voice. "Pikachu, I don't want to talk about this."

_"And you think I do? We_need _to talk about this. I've let this go for too long, and I can't let it go on any longer."_

"Let _what_go on longer, Pikachu? This journey? Pikachu, you know—"

"_What journey, Ash? You keep trying to relive your first journey, but your first journey is over, no matter how much you don't want it to be."_

"Shut up, Pikachu, shut up!" The room turned deadly silent. "Pikachu, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Pikachu closed his eyes. _"I know you didn't mean to, Ash. I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry I've let this go on for so long. You keep replacing our team. Every year you replace us… Squirtle for Totodile… Charizard for Infernape… Pigeot for Fletchling… how long is it going to be before this isn't 'our' team anymore? How much longer before you replace me?"_

"Pikachu, I'd never —!"

"_But you already have!"_Pikachu glared at Ash. _"You've replaced them, and soon enough, you're going to replace me, too. You're even replacing your companions!"_

Ash lowered his head. "No, I'm not —"

_"What ever happened to Misty? Or Brock? How can you stand being around such young kids?"_

"They're not—"

_"You're not ten anymore, Ash."_

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Tears swarmed Ash's vision. "Tha-that's not true. I-I am ten… stop trying to tell me I'm not. Take it back."

Pikachu walked over towards the door. "_I wish I could, Ash, I wish I could — but I can't. I've been a horrible starter to let things get this far._ "

Pikachu started opening the door.

"P-Pikachu? Where are you going?"

_"I'm going out for some fresh air. I need a quiet place to sit and think. I-I'm so sorry, Ash, but I care for you… I just don't know how much longer I can let you do this…"_

Pikachu walked out of the room, leaving Ash to fend a whirlwind of emotions by himself.

**-o-o-o-**

Ash was lying down on his bed staring at the ceiling, alone with his thoughts and the world. He hadn't been aware Pikachu had felt that way. He'd never replace Pikachu, not now, not ever!

But… was he really replacing his old team? He never gave his team much thought, but now that he was laying here thinking about it… his teams did always seem like his first.

How did his old team feel about being at Oak's estate? They were battling Pokémon, not indoor pets… Maybe he was being careless. Arceus — was he no different than Paul? Sure, Ash didn't release any of his Pokémon, but leaving them at Oaks lab? That was even worse: they don't get to battle nearly as often anymore!

Maybe Ash would withdraw them — yeah, it was against regulations to carry more than six Pokémon, but who would really know? It wasn't fair to them for Ash to not take them. He didn't want to replace them; he loved them all. They deserved to travel with him just as much as Pikachu did.

Ash smiled. Yeah, he'd do just that. Professor Oak probably wouldn't mind, either. He was cool like that. He'd tell Pikachu, too. Ash knew he was putting aside the heart of what Pikachu was getting at, but maybe if he took everyone else with him, what he was doing might not be so bad.

Ash got up. Yeah... yeah, he'll tell Pikachu his plan. That's what he'll do. He opened the door and left, not feeling the least bit antsy.

**-o-o-o-**

When Ash got outside of the Pokémon Center, he found his companions and a Meowth-shaped air balloon.

**"Prepare for trouble!"**

**"Yes, and make that double!"**

Ash briefly wondered if Team Rocket realized that using a hot air balloon of that shape ruined all tact and subtleness they had going for them.

**"To protect the world from devastation!"**

**"To unite all evils within our nation!"**

Two times in one day? That was unusual, but then again, this was Team Rocket he was talking about. Everything about them was unusual.

**"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"**

**"To extend our reach to the stars above!"**

Arceus, why do they insist on chanting this extremely long motto? What was the point, anyway? What did it accomplish?

Ash looked around for Pikachu. Where was he? He spotted Pikachu near Team Rocket's air balloon, and did a double take. Pikachu wasn't moving at all. His eyes were wide opened — he wasn't even blinking! Wait a minute — was Pikachu even breathing?

**"Jessie!"**

**"Ja—"**

"PIKACHU!"

Ash pushed his companions aside and ran over to Pikachu's side, prodding him, poking, doing anything he could to elicit a response.

"Pikachu! Can you hear me?"

Pikachu didn't say a word. Ash had tears already streaming down his face. "Pikachu… please, say something."

There was a moment of silence. Then —

"What did you guys do?" Ash's voice was eerily calm and collected.

Jessie's face went slightly pale. "Y-You see, we found him like that."

"Yeah, honest!" James added.

Meowth continued. "We dun't have a clue."

Ash glared at them. "And you expect me to believe that?"

The trio stumbled backwards. "W-We're telling the truth. You gotta believe us. We—"

Ash's palms slowly curled into fists, briefly flashing with blue and purple aura. "You... you IDIOTS! YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO COME HERE AND RUIN EVERYTHING AND—" Ash's voice broke. "AND NOW PIKACHU'S DEAD! HE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"No, we didn't —"

Ash reached into his back pocket, pulling out a special Pokeball. "Go, Charizard."

Charizard came out and let out a mighty roar. He glared at Team Rocket and snarled.

"Charizard, kill them."

Charizard's eyes widened. He turned towards Ash, as if to make sure he heard correctly.

Ash pointed at Pikachu. "They killed Pikachu."

That was all the incentive Charizard needed. He let out a stream of fire fly into the sky before charging Team Rocket.

"W-we're not going down that easily!" James cried. "Go, pokeball!"

His pokemon gave out an excited cry, before rushing over and tackling James. "Attack the Twerp, not me! The Twerp!"

This whole thing... the whole comedy routine... it made Ash sick.

"Charizard, burn it."

Charizard opened his jaw and unleashed a burst of flames. Jame's pokemon and the Goldeen Poop Gang took the full blunt of the attack.

**"Oh no, looks like Team Rocket's— "**

"Oh no you don't! Charizard, after them!"

Wings out, Charizard took a giant leap in the air and used a steel wing, cutting the trio in half cleanly.

Ash's female companion ran to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Ash!" She was crying. "What have you done? What are you—"

Ash slapped her hand. "Shut up. Don't touch me."

Ash returned Charizard and walked over to Pikachu, tears pricking at his eyes. Ash grabbed another Pokémon from his back pocket, one he hadn't touched in a long, long time. "P-pikachu, return."

Ash retreated back into his room. The next day, his companions awoke, only to find Ash nowhere to be found.

**-o-o-o-**

The sun shined, the grass blades were soft to the touch, and they moved, slightly, almost rhythmically, against the light, breezy winds.

Ash's whole word was ruined, yet the weather dared to be beautiful.

A single, gentle hand rubbed Ash's shoulder softly. "It's going to be ok, Ash. Pikachu's in a better place now."

Ash doubted there was any single place that could be better for Pikachu then next to him or on his shoulder, but he didn't dare correct his mother.

It took a full day on Charizard's back, but Ash made it to Pallet Town. Pikachu always said he wanted to be buried in Pallet Town's graveyard, right next to—

No. Ash pulled down his hat to the side, the same side that was stained with tear streaks, and silently cried into it. He couldn't let himself think about Pikachu. Pikachu wouldn't want him to be like this…

His mother slowly took her hand and lifted Ash's hat. "It's ok to cry, Ash." It was then he noticed his mother had tears in her eyes, too. "It's ok…"

Ash wrapped his mother into a tight hug, and cried into her shoulder. Delilah returned the hug, and he could feel her crying, too. They stayed like that, crying, taking solstice into each other, for a long, long time.

**-o-o-o-**

"Mother, I'm leaving."

Delilah continued washing dishes, not even bothering to look up. "When are you coming home?"

Even though she wasn't looking at him, Ash looked away from her. "I… I don't know."

He could feel her looking at him now. "You are in no condition to be going anywhere, young man!" Ash winced. He had a feeling she would react like this. "I cannot allow you to continue that stupid journey of yours yet."

Ash turned towards her with an audible gasp. "They're not stupid!"

Delilah glared at him. "Your father left for his journey and wound up dead on Mt. Silver! You left for your journey and look at you! What have you accomplished?"

"I accomplished a lot—"

"That journey has consumed your life! I bet you didn't even realize that Mimey—."

Ash looked around and noticed for the first time Mr. Mime was nowhere to be seen. "That Mr. Mime what? What… what happened to Mr. Mime?"

Delilah's voice came out hollow and broken. "Mimey's dead, Ash. He died. And because of your stupid journey, you never talked to me, you never found out, and you didn't attend his funeral. And because of you're stupid journey, I might lost you, too, just like I lost your father."

"…" Ash pulled his hat down to the side. "I'm leaving… but I'll be back soon. I promise."

Delilah looked up at him in shocked, and wordlessly watched him walk out the door.

**-o-o-o-**

The first one was a joke. She didn't expect his challenge — he did push the man out front to get inside, after all — and she refused to battle him.

Of course, when Ash threatened to kill her, she happily accepted his challenge.

And like he said — she was a joke. Her pokemon were surprisingly easy to defeat. He didn't need to use many recovery items, either.

"I hope you know this is illegal!" she spat. "You're not even allowed to be here!"

Ash just looked at her. "I beat you fair and square. Open the door or I'll kill you."

Once again, this got results. He advanced effortlessly.

**-o-o-o-**

"Ash, my boy! What a surprise! What brings you here?"

Ash didn't tell Professor Oak about Pikachu yet, nor did he plan to. He didn't want to relive it.

Besides, it was none of Oak's business.

Ash came here with one purpose in mind. "I'd like to swap out my team."

Oak raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yes. I'd like to withdraw these Pokemon." He handed Oak a sheet of paper.

Oak stared wordlessly at what Ash had given him. "I see… Come with me."

**-o-o-o-**

The next one put up more of a fight—no pun intended.

He didn't like Ash one bit. But he still accepted his challenge. Ash figured he must have assumed he was authorized to be here if the last one let him through.

That made things easier. His pokemon weren't pushovers, but they relied too much on brute strength. Ash's pokemon easily outsmarted them in battle.

Ash almost froze when faced against his Onix. Memories of Pikachu almost consumed him, but a Hydro Pump took it out in a single shot.

**-o-o-o-**

"If any one of you doesn't want to do this with me, I won't hold it against you to leave now."

None of them moved. Ash smiled for the first time since Pikachu's death. Even if he wasn't always there for them, they were always there for him.

And just like that, he immediately felt guilty. "Bulbasaur… Squirtle… if we're going to do this, I'm going to have to ask you to evolve. I… I know it's asking a lot, but considering what we're up against…"

Ash was further touched when the two of them evolved without a single hesitation.

He had never felt prouder of his team before.

_For you, Pikachu._

**-o-o-o-**

"Foolish child. You will not get past me."

The third one was old. He expected her to be easy, but she ended up being the hardest. Experience played a part, but Ash could mostly tell that she was just skilled. Her Pokemon were ruthless and used strategies he'd never seen before.

Ash found himself using recovery items more than once. He might have lost, though, if it weren't for Charizard. His brute strength allowed him to power through her team towards the end of the battle. Of course, Charizard was only able to win because of his other pokemon's efforts of wearing down her team.

For the first time, Ash truly understood the meaning of teamwork.

**-o-o-o-**

Delilah dropped her apple pie when she saw the news. What was her son _thinking_? If he didn't stop this madness, the government might…

She tried calling him, but of course, he left his pokegear at home. Delilah felt the urge to barge up there and drag him back home herself.

But without Mimey…

She wasn't strong enough. Perhaps one of Ash's companions could help her instead.

She picked up the phone and dialed the first person she could think of.

**-o-o-o-**

"Ash! What are you doing here?" Lance's jaw line was set, his eyes were twitching, and his hands were clenched tightly.

Ash was anything but calm. "It was your job wipe out Team Rocket! And you failed! All you do is sit there on your throne and do nothing to help the region or any of the problems we have! Because of your incompetence, Pikachu is—!" Ash pulled his hat down to the side. "You're not fit to be champion. So that's why I'm here. I'm going to take your title from you."

Lance glared at Ash coolly. "You can try." He sent out his indecent red Gyarados.

Ash sized it up. "Go, Charizard."

Lance didn't waste any time. "Hydro Pump!"

Ash activated his Key Stone, and Charizard was encased in a pink bubble, which the Hydro Pump harmlessly bounced off of. Charizard came out black, with blue flames froathing off the maw of his mouth.

"Charizard, Dragon Claw."

It was an instant knock out.

Lance's eyes went wide. "H-how?" Ash didn't answer him, watching silently as he recalled his Gyarados in favor for one of his Dragonair.

"Thunder Wave!"

Charizard proved to possess ultrasonic speed. He easily maneuvered around the Thunder Wave and retaliated with a Dragon Claw.

Another one hit knock out.

Lance's shock ebbed away in favor for aggravation. He stubbornly substituted his Dragonair for his other one.

Predictably, that one was also taken out with a single attack.

Ash laughed hollowly. "How pathetic. Agatha put up a harder fight than you."

Lance's face was red. If Ash had to guess, he seemed _livid_. "Let's see if you can beat this one. Aerodactyl, go!"

"Rock Slide!"

Ash let out a resigned sigh. He was tired, oh so tired. . .

"Dragon Claw."

Charizard ripped the rocks to shreds, and batted the Aerodactyl out of the sky. It was surprisingly still conscious, but it looked like it didn't have much left in itself.

Lance's anger turned rapidly into desperation. "Sky Attack!"

Charizard took it down with a well-aimed Dragon Tail.

Lance was visibly sweating now. "Well, you won't get past this one so easily!" He called fourth his Dragonite.

"Use Outrage!"

Dragonite charged Charizard with alarming speeds.

Both Pokemon were at such high level — one attack from either of them would knock out the other. Ash, oddly calm, made a gesture to Charizard. Double Teams swarmed around Charizard, and Dragonite missed. With each doppelganger Dragonite hit, his frustration doubled and doubled until he finally started spinning in confusion.

Yes. The opportunity had shown itself. And Ash was going to take it.

"Charizard. Use Outrage."

The attack was too much for Dragonite. It was down and out.

Lance started in dumb shock. "I-I lost…"

"Charizard…" Ash glared at Lance. Charizard plucked Lance into the air, their faces only inches apart.

"A-Ash? What are you doing?"

Ash's voice was raw with venom. "Doing what should have been done years ago…"

Lance's eyes pleaded with Ash's. "Please, don't do this…"

Ash was about to say something, but something hard, something _familiar_, hit him on his head.

**-o-o-o-**

"Hello?"

Delilah smiled. Someone finally answered. "Yes, may I speak to Misty?"

The voice sounded cautious. "This is she."

"Thank goodness! This is Mrs. Ketchum."

"Oh!" Misty sounded astonished. "Hi! How are you?"

"Never mind that! I need your help. I-it's Ash…"

"What's wrong?" Misty sounded generally worried.

"Turn on the six o'clock new."

**-o-o-o-**

"M-Misty?"

The first thing Ash discovered was that she _changed_. She was taller, her breasts were bigger (as much as he tried _not_ to notice), her face was more refined, and her hair wasn't nearly as ratty.

At the same time, she was still _Misty_. Her lips still twitched when she was angry, her eyes were still the colors of a raging sea storm, and she still had her damn mallet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Misty face was puffed, and she had that _look _that still gave him nightmares.

"You can't even begin to understand what I've been going through, Misty! Don't talk like you—" Misty lifted her mallet and smashed his head in with it. "Ow!"

"Why are you attacking the champion? What did he do to you?"

Ash glared at her. "It's his fault Team Rocket is still around! T-they… they killed Pikachu, Misty."

Her face softened, but only slightly. "Ash… your mother told me Team Rocket found him dead already… what if they weren't lying?"

Ash looked up at her. "What do you mean? They had to be lying. They're Team Rocket!"

"I don't think so." She shook her head. "The Team Rocket I knew wouldn't kill Pikachu, especially since they were trying to catch him."

Ash was shouting now. "Stop it! You don't know! You—!"

"Ash… don't you know? The lifespan of a Pikachu is only four years. You're lucky he lived as long as he did."

Ash's eyes glazed over. "B-but I've only had him for one year. I'm only ten year—"

"No, Ash. You're not ten anymore."

Ash snapped at her. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! I'M AM TEN AND—!"

Misty looked at him with pity. "Ash, look at me. Do I still look ten to you?"

The room was silent. Ash slumped to his knees, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. "…What have I done?"

This whole time, Pikachu was right. His journey… what did it even mean anymore? What was he doing with his life?

Misty crouched over next to him, slowly lifted his hat over his eyes, and embraced him in a hug. "It's ok, Ash… It's going to be alright… I'll help you get through this… I promise."

Misty let Ash go and walked over to Lance. "Lance, I know this is asking a lot, but… well, I know you understand where Ash is coming from… I guess what I'm trying to say is… can you please let this one go?"

Lance knew what she was really asking. He was hesitant, but nodded. "I suppose so, Misty, I suppose so…"

Misty turned to Ash. "Come on, Ash. Let's go." She stretched her hand out for Ash to take.

He sat there, staring at her. He had been so horrible to her. He hadn't even talked to her since that reunion they had… Since then he had been replacing her—her and Brock—yet here she was, still here for him, still helping him out, forever his moral compass.

Ash understands now. He couldn't get through this by himself. He needed someone — no, he needed a _specific_ someone.

And she was right in front of him.

It was far from healing, it was far from going back to the way things used to be, but he took her hand and slowly started to pull himself up.


End file.
